Misplaced Pages

#192807

139-574: Gian Gastone de' Medici (born Giovanni Battista Gastone ; 25 May 1671 – 9 July 1737) was the seventh and last Medicean grand duke of Tuscany . He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans . His sister, Electress Palatine Anna Maria Luisa , arranged his marriage to the wealthy and widowed Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg in 1697. The couple despised each other and had no children. As Grand Prince Ferdinando , Gian Gastone's elder brother, predeceased Cosimo III, Gian Gastone succeeded his father in 1723. His reign

278-519: A Papal conclave , offered to create him "General of the Spanish Seas". Peter II of Portugal , however, had other things in mind for him: he wanted Gian Gastone to marry his only daughter, Isabel Luísa, Princess of Beira . To marry her, Gian Gastone would have to convince his father to allot him an allowance of "adequate stature". However, the Grand Duke refused and neither the cardinalate nor

417-667: A polymath , was sponsored by the Electress from his arrival in Düsseldorf, in 1703, until her return to Tuscany; the Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini library in Florence houses two editions of his chamber duets. Anna Maria Luisa arranged a marriage for her younger brother at the instigation of their father: On 2 July 1697 Gian Gastone de' Medici married Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg , heiress of

556-653: A burst of ebullience, releasing prisoners, abolishing exorbitant taxes, "Pensions on the Creed" (monies paid to converts to Christianity) and public executions. Gian Gastone recalled Violante Beatrice to the royal court and banished his sister, the Dowager Electress, to the Villa La Quiete. The Governor reigned supreme over Tuscan society, and Gian Gastone delegated most of his public duties to her, and chose to spend most of his time in bed. Here, Gian Gastone

695-534: A combination of those of her father and paternal grandmother, Vittoria della Rovere . Following refusals from Portugal , France , Spain and Savoy , James II of England put forward his brother-in-law, Francesco II d'Este, Duke of Modena , but the Princess deemed a duke too lowly in terms of protocol for the daughter of a grand duke. Finally, it was Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor who suggested Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine . The Elector Palatine obtained

834-513: A contemporary describes the Electress's physical attributes: "In her person, she is tall, her complexion was fair, her eyes large and expressive, both those and her hair were black; her mouth was small, with a fullness of the lips; her teeth were as white as ivory...." She departed for Düsseldorf , her husband’s capital, on 6 May 1691, accompanied by her younger brother, Gian Gastone . Johann Wilhelm surprised her at Innsbruck , where they officially married. The Palatinate Anna Maria Luisa arrived in

973-618: A cost to the state of 1,000 crowns per week. The electress donated much of her fortune to charity: £4,000 a month. On 19 February 1743, she died, and the grand ducal line of the House of Medici died with her. The Florentines grieved her, and she was interred in the crypt that she helped to complete, San Lorenzo. The extinction of the main Medici dynasty and the accession in 1737 of Francis Stephen , Duke of Lorraine and husband of Maria Theresa of Austria , led to Tuscany's temporary inclusion in

1112-578: A final proclamation commanding that Tuscany shall stay independent; Anna Maria Luisa shall succeed uninhibited after Gian Gastone; the Grand Duke reserves the right to choose his successor. Unfortunately for Cosimo, Europe completely ignored it. Gian Gastone, now the Grand Duke, and Anna Maria Luisa were not on good terms. He despised the Electress for engineering his unhappy marriage with Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg , while she detested his liberal policies: he repealed all of his father's anti-Semitic statutes and revelled in upsetting her. Consequently,

1251-553: A foreigner ruling Tuscany. Spain accordingly withdrew its troops from Tuscany in January 1737; 6,000 Austrians took their place on Francis's behalf. By the time of the Spanish withdrawal, the Grand Duke was dying from "an accumulation of diseases". One of his final acts was to order the erection of a statue of Galileo Galilei , who had been patronised by his great-grandfather Cosimo II and his grandfather Grand Duke Ferdinando II , in

1390-473: A harmonious marriage. The Electress spent her time enjoying balls, musical performances and other festivities. He commissioned a theatre for her where the comedies of French playwright Molière were performed. Because Anna Maria Luisa patronised many musicians, the contemporary Palatine court enjoyed regard as an international centre of music. She invited Fortunato Chelleri to court and appointed him maestro di cappella ("music teacher"). Agostino Steffani ,

1529-482: A high proportion of the major Florentine works of art created during their period of rule. Their support was critical, since artists generally began work on their projects only after they had received commissions. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, the first patron of the arts in the family, aided Masaccio and commissioned Filippo Brunelleschi for the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence in 1419. Cosimo

SECTION 10

#1732776212193

1668-399: A long rivalry themselves, but the pope gave no official sanction to the plan. Despite his refusal of official approval, the pope nonetheless allowed the plot to proceed without interfering, and, after the failed assassination of Lorenzo, also gave dispensation for crimes done in the service of the church. After this, Lorenzo adopted his brother's illegitimate son Giulio de' Medici (1478–1535),

1807-496: A pension of 80,000 livres in compensation. She abandoned Tuscany in June 1675; Anna Maria Luisa, who was less than eight years old at that time, never saw her again. Although Cosimo doted on his daughter, she was raised by her paternal grandmother, Vittoria della Rovere . In 1669, Anna Maria Luisa was considered as a potential bride to Louis, le Grand Dauphin , the heir-apparent of Louis XIV of France . Cosimo III did not like

1946-404: Is equivalent to £808,739 in present-day terms. On 18 February 1743, Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Dowager Electress Palatine, died of an "oppression on the breast". Sir Horace Mann, 1st Baronet , a British resident in Florence, recalled in a letter that "The common people are convinced she went off in a hurricane of wind; a most violent one began this morning and lasted for about two hours, and now

2085-482: Is most remembered as the patron of astronomer Galileo Galilei , whose 1610 treatise, Sidereus Nuncius , was dedicated to him. Cosimo died of consumption ( tuberculosis ) in 1621. Cosimo's elder son, Ferdinando, was not yet of legal maturity to succeed him, thus Maria Maddalena and his grandmother, Christina of Lorraine, acted as regents. Their collective regency is known as the Turtici . Maria Maddelana's temperament

2224-612: The Albizzi or the Strozzi . One Salvestro de' Medici was speaker of the woolmakers' guild during the Ciompi revolt of 1378–82, and one Antonio de' Medici was exiled from Florence in 1396. Involvement in another plot in 1400 caused all branches of the family to be banned from Florentine politics for twenty years, with the exception of two. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (c. 1360–1429), son of Averardo de' Medici (1320–1363), increased

2363-527: The Bardi , Altoviti , Ridolfi, Cavalcanti and the Tornabuoni. This has been suggested as a reason for the rise of the Medici family. Members of the family rose to some prominence in the early 14th century in the wool trade, especially with France and Spain . Despite the presence of some Medici in the city's government institutions , they were still far less notable than other outstanding families such as

2502-489: The Basilica of Santa Croce . Anna Maria Luisa, the Dowager Electress Palatine, rushed to his bedside when it became apparent he would not recover. Gian Gastone could not eat anything, and his condition steadily worsened; Anna Maria Luisa subsequently had him moved to a clean bed. Worried for her brother's soul, the Dowager Electress had the irreligious Gian Gastone repent for his sins. On 9 July 1737, in

2641-805: The Congress of Vienna . Tuscany became a province of the United Kingdom of Italy in 1861. However, several extant branches of the House of Medici survive, including the Princes of Ottajano , the Medici Tornaquinci, and the Verona Medici Counts of Caprara and Gavardo . (see Medici family tree ) The greatest accomplishments of the Medici were in the sponsorship of art and architecture , mainly early and High Renaissance art and architecture. The Medici were responsible for

2780-582: The Dutch Republic gave any credence to it, and the plan ultimately died with Cosimo III in 1723. On 4 April 1718, Great Britain, France and the Dutch Republic (also later, Austria) selected Don Carlos of Spain , the elder child of Elisabeth Farnese and Philip V of Spain , as the Tuscan heir. By 1722, the electress was not even acknowledged as heiress, and Cosimo was reduced to spectator at

2919-615: The Electress Palatine . Concerned for the future of the dynasty, Cosimo urged the Electress to find Gian Gastone—currently the only one of his children unmarried—a suitable bride. She put forward Anna Maria Franziska , her brother-in-law's widow and potential heiress of the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg . The bride-to-be was described as "more like a Bohemian peasant than a princess" by a contemporary. They were married in Düsseldorf ,

SECTION 20

#1732776212193

3058-705: The Grand Duchy of Tuscany on Charles's behalf in October 1731. Charles, known as Duke of Parma since January, arrived in Florence the next March. Gian Gastone was taken with the Infante-Duke, showering him with gifts. He even went so far as to have the Duke created Grand Prince of Tuscany, the title borne by the Tuscan heir-apparent, against the wishes of the Holy Roman Emperor , Charles VI ; however,

3197-483: The Holy Roman Emperor and Holy Roman Empress's advice. Nevertheless, their reconciliation was brief, and Gian Gastone left for Hamburg in October 1703, only to return to Prague the next February. The Grand Duke tired of the Princess of Saxe-Lauenburg's stubborn ways. He requisitioned the help of Pope Clement XI , who sent the Archbishop of Prague to tell her she must go to Florence with Gian Gastone. The Princess

3336-953: The House of Este should succeed the Electress. Charles VI had previously offered the Grand Duke territorial compensation—in the form of the State of Presidi —if he chose quickly, but reneged. In 1718, Charles VI repudiated Cosimo's decision, declaring a union of Tuscany and Modena (the Este lands) unacceptable. Hereafter, a stalemate existed between them. The Elector Palatine died in June 1716. His widow, Anna Maria Luisa, returned to Florence in October 1717. Dowager Grand Princess Violante Beatrice , her brother Ferdinando's widow, and Anna Maria Luisa did not enjoy an amiable relationship. Upon hearing of Anna Maria Luisa's intention to return, Violante Beatrice prepared to depart for Munich , her brother's capital, but Gian Gastone wished her to stay, so she did. To keep

3475-567: The Napoleons ) were descended from Francesco. Ferdinando eagerly assumed the government of Tuscany. He commanded the draining of the Tuscan marshlands, built a road network in southern Tuscany and cultivated trade in Livorno . To augment the Tuscan silk industry, he oversaw the planting of mulberry trees along the major roads (silk worms feed on mulberry leaves). In foreign affairs, he shifted Tuscany away from Habsburg hegemony by marrying

3614-718: The Palazzo Medici . Anna Maria Luisa de%27 Medici Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (11 August 1667 – 18 February 1743) was an Italian noblewoman who was the last lineal descendant of the main branch of the House of Medici . A patron of the arts, she bequeathed the Medicis' large art collection, including the contents of the Uffizi , Palazzo Pitti and the Medici villas , which she inherited upon her brother Gian Gastone's death in 1737, and her Palatine treasures to

3753-549: The Palazzo Pitti , living in virtual seclusion, only on occasion receiving a select-number of guests under a black dais in her silver-clad audience room. She occupied herself financing and overseeing the construction of the Cappella dei Principi , started in 1604 by Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany —to the tune of 1,000 crowns per week, and she donated much of her fortune to charity: £4,000 per annum. This

3892-571: The Prince de Craon , the Grand Duke's envoy, until Francis III could arrive in Florence, but declined. At Gian Gastone's demise, all the House of Medici's allodial possessions, including £2,000,000 liquid cash, a vast art collection, robes of state and lands in the former Duchy of Urbino , were conferred on Anna Maria Luisa. In regards to this, her most notable act was the Patto di Famiglia ("Family Pact"), signed on 31 October 1737. In collaboration with

4031-625: The Ruspanti . On 24 May 1671, the first anniversary of his grandfather Ferdinando II's death, Giovanni Battista Gastone de' Medici was born in Florence to Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans . He derived his baptismal name, Giovanni Battista Gastone, from his maternal grandfather, Gaston, Duke of Orléans . Cosimo and Marguerite Louise frequently quarreled. As a result, four years after his birth, Marguerite Louise returned home to France. Gian Gastone and his siblings were left in

4170-738: The Treaty of Vienna (1731) : in exchange for Spain and its allies' recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 , Austria confirmed Infante Charles as Gian Gastone's heir—the Grand Duke wasn't consulted. He was, however, appointed joint-guardian of the Infante with Dorothea Sophie of the Palatinate-Neuburg , Dowager Duchess of Parma and the Electress Palatine's sister-in-law. Thirty thousand Spanish troops occupied

4309-522: The Tuscan state , on the condition that no part of it could be removed from "the Capital of the grand ducal State....[and from] the succession of His Serene Grand Duke." Anna Maria Luisa was the only daughter of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany , and Marguerite Louise d'Orléans , a niece of Louis XIII of France . On her marriage to Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine , she became Electress of

Gian Gastone de' Medici - Misplaced Pages Continue

4448-583: The Vatican , including Martin Luther 's Protestant Reformation and the infamous sack of Rome in 1527 . Leo X's fun-loving pontificate bankrupted Vatican coffers and accrued massive debts. From Leo's election as pope in 1513 to his death in 1521, Florence was overseen, in turn, by Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours , Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino , and Giulio de' Medici, the latter of whom became Pope Clement VII . Clement VII's tumultuous pontificate

4587-946: The Visconti and Sforza in Milan , the Este in Ferrara , the Borgia and Della Rovere in Rome , and the Gonzaga in Mantua . The Medici Bank, from when it was created in 1397 to its fall in 1494, was one of the most prosperous and respected institutions in Europe, and the Medici family was considered the wealthiest in Europe for a time. From this base, they acquired political power initially in Florence and later in wider Italy and Europe. They were among

4726-820: The crypt that she helped to complete in San Lorenzo ; although not entirely finished at the time of her death, her testament stipulated that part of the revenue of her estate should "be used to continue, finish and perfect...the said famous chapel San Lorenzo". Anna Maria Luisa's single most enduring act was the Family Pact . It ensured that all the Medicean art and treasures collected over nearly three centuries of political ascendancy remained in Florence. Cynthia Miller Lawrence, an American art historian, argues that Anna Maria Luisa thus provisioned for Tuscany's future economy through tourism. Sixteen years after her death,

4865-760: The eponymous duchy , in Düsseldorf. Gian Gastone's wife repulsed him, and for that reason, they separated in 1708. The same year as Gian Gastone's marriage, the Peace of Ryswick ended the Nine Years' War: French troops withdrew from the Electoral Palatinate and Johann Wilhelm received the County of Megen . Following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes , a document which had hitherto given rights to Calvinists , in 1685, 2,000 French Huguenots emigrated to

5004-498: The "senior" branch of the family—those descended from Cosimo the Elder—were able to rule until the assassination of Alessandro de' Medici , first Duke of Florence , in 1537. This century-long rule was interrupted only on two occasions (between 1494–1512 and 1527–1530), when anti-Medici factions took control of Florence. Following the assassination of Duke Alessandro, power passed to the "junior" Medici branch—those descended from Lorenzo

5143-491: The 'cadet' branch, continuing the House of Medici in the female line. Medicean In 1532, the family acquired the hereditary title Duke of Florence . In 1569, the duchy was elevated to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany after territorial expansion. The Medici ruled the Grand Duchy from its inception under the builder Cosimo I until 1737, with the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici . The Medici produced four popes of

5282-531: The 17th century, the population of Florence declined by 50%, and the population of the grand duchy as a whole declined by an estimated 40%. Cosimo desperately tried to reach a settlement with the European powers, but Tuscany's legal status was very complicated: the area of the grand duchy formerly comprising the Republic of Siena was technically a Spanish fief, while the territory of the old Republic of Florence

5421-476: The Castro mercenaries were paid for, the state could no longer afford to pay interest on government bonds, with the result that the interest rate was lowered by 0.75%. At that time, the economy was so decrepit that barter trade became prevalent in rural market places. Ferdinando died on 23 May 1670 afflicted by apoplexy and dropsy . He was interred in the Basilica of San Lorenzo , the Medici's necropolis. At

5560-494: The Catholic Church— Pope Leo X (1513–1521), Pope Clement VII (1523–1534), Pope Pius IV (1559–1565) and Pope Leo XI (1605)—and two queens of France— Catherine de' Medici (1547–1559) and Marie de' Medici (1600–1610). The Medici's grand duchy witnessed degrees of economic growth under the early grand dukes, but was bankrupt by the time of Cosimo III de' Medici (r. 1670–1723). The Medicis' wealth and influence

5699-590: The Dowager Electress induced Gian Gastone to make a public appearance—his final one—on Saint John the Baptist's day of 1729. An alcoholic, Gian Gastone drank too much before the ceremony and vomited repeatedly throughout; he had to be carried unconscious back to the Palazzo Pitti , the royal palace, on a litter. A sprained ankle incurred in July 1729 left the Grand Duke bed-ridden for—barring two occasions—the rest of his life. The "Tuscan question" finally seemed resolved by

Gian Gastone de' Medici - Misplaced Pages Continue

5838-587: The Dowager Electress probably would never succeed, went about ensuring his sister's inheritance of all the House of Medici 's private property. Thus, he separated Medici possessions from those of the state; hitherto, there had been no distinction between the two. Governor Violante Beatrice and the Dowager Electress, following the former's sojourn in Rome, in spite of their mutual dislike of each other, attempted to ameliorate Gian Gastone's decadent public image together. Violante Beatrice organised banquets to remove him from

5977-532: The Duchies of Rovere and Montefeltro , passed to her younger son. Cosimo III married Marguerite Louise d'Orléans , a granddaughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici. An exceedingly discontented pairing, this union produced three children, notably Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, Electress Palatine , and the last Medicean Grand Duke of Tuscany, Gian Gastone de' Medici . Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine , Anna Maria Luisa's spouse, successfully requisitioned

6116-454: The Dutch Republic (and later Austria) selected Charles of Spain , the elder child of Elisabeth Farnese (a great-granddaughter of Margherita de' Medici ) and Philip V of Spain , as the Tuscan heir, the Electress's rights to the throne being completely disregarded in the process. All his ambitions in regards to the succession being thwarted, Cosimo III distributed one final proclamation shortly before his death, on 31 October 1723, decreeing that

6255-624: The Elder , the youngest son of Giovanni di Bicci, starting with his great-great-grandson Cosimo I "the Great" . Cosimo the Elder and his father started the Medici foundations in banking and manufacturing—including a form of franchises . The family's influence grew with its patronage of wealth, art, and culture. Ultimately, it reached its zenith in the papacy and continued to flourish for centuries afterward as Dukes of Florence and Tuscany. At least half, probably more, of Florence's people were employed by

6394-564: The Elder's notable artistic associates were Donatello and Fra Angelico . In later years the most significant protégé of the Medici family was Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564), who produced work for a number of family members, beginning with Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was said to be extremely fond of the young Michelangelo and invited him to study the family collection of antique sculpture. Lorenzo also served as patron to Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) for seven years. Indeed, Lorenzo

6533-539: The Electoral Palatinate. Johann Wilhelm, under criticism for his treatment of the Palatine Protestants from the Elector of Brandenburg introduced a Religionsdeklaration in 1705, which sanctioned religious freedom. Cosimo III wished to alter the male-only Tuscan line of succession so as to allow the accession of his daughter, Anna Maria Luisa, in the event of a male-line succession failure. But his plan

6672-430: The Electress and Violante Beatrice attempted to improve Gian Gastone's poor public image together. Rumours abounded that the Grand Duke had died; it was a rarity for the public to see him. To dispel the said rumours, the Electress compelled him to make an appearance—his last one—in 1729, on the feast day of the patron saint of Florence, John the Baptist . The Ruspanti , Gian Gastone's morally corrupt entourage, hated

6811-522: The Electress should succeed Gian Gastone. Unfortunately for Cosimo, his declaration was completely ignored. The Tuscany Gian Gastone inherited was in a pitiful state: the army numbered less than 3,000, the royal coffers were empty and Florence was full of beggars. The ramshackle condition of the capital was noted by philosopher Montesquieu five years into Gian Gastone's reign: "There is no town where men live in less luxury than Florence". Despite these hindrances, Gian Gastone, aged 52, commenced his reign with

6950-549: The Electress was compelled to abandon her apartment in the left wing of the Palazzo Pitti , for the Villa La Quiete. She refurbished La Quiete's house and gardens with the assistance of Sebastiano Rapi , the gardener of the Boboli Gardens , and the architects Giovanni Battista Foggini and Paolo Giovanozzi . In the period 1722–1725, the Electress embellished the villa further by commissioning twelve statues of various religious figures. In spite of their mutual dislike,

7089-479: The Electress was not even acknowledged as heiress, and Cosimo was reduced to a spectator at the conferences for Tuscany's future. In the midst of this, Marguerite Louise, Anna Maria Luisa's mother, died. Instead of willing her valuables to her children, as prescribed by the 1674 agreement, they went to the Princess of Epinoy , a distant relative. On 25 October 1723, six days before his death, Cosimo III distributed

SECTION 50

#1732776212193

7228-545: The Electress; and she, them. Violante Beatrice tried to withdraw the Grand Duke from their sphere of influence by organising banquets. His conduct at these literally sent those in attendance scrambling for their carriages: he vomited repeatedly into his napkin, belched and told rude jokes. These distractions ceased upon Violante Beatrice's death in 1731. In 1736, during the War of the Polish Succession , Infante Charles

7367-424: The European powers to agree to recognise this statute. However, in 1735, as part of a territorial arrangement, the European powers appointed Duke Francis Stephen of Lorraine as heir, and he duly ascended the Tuscan throne in her stead. After the death of Johann Wilhelm, Anna Maria Luisa returned to Florence , where she enjoyed the rank of first lady until the accession of her brother Gian Gastone, who banished her to

7506-430: The Florentine Republic). The Medici additionally benefited from the discovery of vast deposits of alum in Tolfa in 1461. Alum is essential as a mordant in the dyeing of certain cloths and was used extensively in Florence, where the main industry was textile manufacturing. Before the Medici, the Turks were the only exporters of alum, so Europe was forced to buy from them until the discovery in Tolfa. Pius II granted

7645-411: The French occupation of Tuscany, the people called for the long-dead Gian Gastone to ascend the throne. His remains were interred in the Medicean necropolis, the Basilica of San Lorenzo . His corpse was dressed in "black velvet", according to Official Report on the Examination of the Tombs in the Medici Mausoleum of 1857, "with, over this, the great cloak of Grand Master of the Order of Saint Stephen. On

7784-524: The Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Cosimo purchased a portion of the island of Elba from the Republic of Genoa and based the Tuscan navy there. He died in 1574, succeeded by his eldest surviving son Francesco , whose death without male heirs led to the succession of his younger brother, Ferdinando , in 1587. Francesco married Johanna of Austria , and with his consort produced Eleonora de' Medici , Duchess of Mantua, and Marie de' Medici , Queen of France and Navarre. Through Marie, all succeeding French monarchs (bar

7923-404: The Grand Duchy, a law later overturned, but resurrected by Maria Maddalena's grandson, Cosimo III . Harold Acton , an Anglo-Italian historian, ascribed the decline of Tuscany to the Turtici regency. Grand Duke Ferdinado was obsessed with new technology, and had a variety of hygrometers, barometers, thermometers, and telescopes installed in the Palazzo Pitti . In 1657, Leopoldo de' Medici ,

8062-416: The Grand Duke's youngest brother, established the Accademia del Cimento , organized to attract scientists to Florence from all over Tuscany for mutual study. Tuscany participated in the Wars of Castro (the last time Medicean Tuscany proper was involved in a conflict) and inflicted a defeat on the forces of Pope Urban VIII in 1643. The war effort was costly and the treasury so empty because of it that when

8201-608: The Holy Roman Church), Alessandro de' Medici (future duke of Florence), and their guardians. In 1530, after allying himself with Charles V, Pope Clement VII succeeded in securing the engagement of Charles V's daughter Margeret of Austria to his illegitimate nephew (reputedly his son) Alessandro de' Medici . Clement also convinced Charles V to name Alessandro as Duke of Florence. Thus began the reign of Medici monarchs in Florence, which lasted two centuries. After securing Alessandro de' Medici's dukedom, Pope Clement VII married off his first cousin, twice removed, Catherine de' Medici , to

8340-408: The Holy Roman Emperor and Francis of Lorraine, she willed all the personal property of the Medici's to the Tuscan state, provided that nothing was ever removed from Florence. The "Lorrainers," as the occupying forces were dubbed, were popularly loathed. The Viceroy, the Prince de Craon, whom the Electress disliked for his "vulgar" court, allowed the Electress to live undisturbed in her own wing of

8479-516: The Medici and their foundational branches in business. The Medici briefly became leaders of Western Christendom through their two famous 16th century popes, Leo X and Clement VII . Both also served as de facto political rulers of Rome, Florence, and large swaths of Italy known as the Papal States . They were generous patrons of the arts who commissioned masterpieces such as Raphael 's Transfiguration and Michelangelo 's The Last Judgment ; however, their reigns coincided with troubles for

SECTION 60

#1732776212193

8618-399: The Medici family a monopoly on the mining there, making them the primary producers of alum in Europe. Three successive generations of the Medici—Cosimo, Piero, and Lorenzo—ruled over Florence through the greater part of the 15th century. They clearly dominated Florentine representative government without abolishing it altogether. These three members of the Medici family had great skills in

8757-410: The Medici to the Tuscan state, provided that nothing was ever removed from Florence. The "Lorrainers", as the occupying forces were called, were popularly loathed, but the regent, the Prince de Craon, allowed the electress to live unperturbed in the Palazzo Pitti . She occupied herself with financing and overseeing the construction of the Basilica of San Lorenzo , started in 1604 by Ferdinando I , at

8896-450: The Medici, first under Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici , later under his son Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici and great-grandson, Lorenzo de' Medici . The Medici controlled the Medici Bank—then Europe's largest bank—and an array of other enterprises in Florence and elsewhere. In 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled. The next year, however, a pro-Medici Signoria (civic government) led by Tommaso Soderini, Oddo Altoviti and Lucca Pitti

9035-445: The Palatinate , and, by patronising musicians, she earned for the contemporary Palatine court the reputation of an important music centre. As Johann Wilhelm had syphilis the union produced no offspring, which, combined with her siblings' barrenness, meant that the Medici were on the verge of extinction. In 1713 Cosimo III altered the Tuscan laws of succession to allow the accession of his daughter, and spent his final years canvassing

9174-676: The Portuguese marriage ever materialised. Out of sympathy, Gian Gastone befriended his unhappy sister-in-law, Duchess Violante Beatrice of Bavaria . Her husband, Grand Prince Ferdinando, thought her too ugly and too dull for him. At the same time, Gian Gastone sank into a state of melancholy. In an attempt to rouse him from this condition, Cardinal Francesco Maria often summoned Gian Gastone to festivities at his villa, Lappeggi . However, these soirées had no effect and Gian Gastone continued to weep unceasingly in his private rooms. By 1697, Violante Beatrice and Ferdinando had been married for eight years and still lacked issue, as did Gian Gastone's sister,

9313-419: The Senate, Tuscany's titular legislature, promulgating that if Cosimo and his new heir apparent, Gian Gastone, were to predecease the Electress, she would ascend the throne. Charles VI was furious; he replied that the grand duchy was an imperial fief and therefore he alone possessed the prerogative to alter the laws of succession. To complicate things further, Elisabeth Farnese , heiress of the Duchy of Parma ,

9452-456: The Villa La Quiete. When Gian Gastone died in 1737, Francis Stephen's envoy offered Anna Maria Luisa the position of nominal regent of Tuscany, but she declined. Her death, in 1743, brought the grand ducal House of Medici to an end. Her remains were interred in the Medicean necropolis, Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence , which she helped complete. Despite her mother's efforts to induce a miscarriage by means of riding, Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici,

9591-414: The arts and sciences. They funded the invention of the piano , and arguably that of opera , They were also protagonists of the Counter-Reformation , from the beginning of the Reformation through the Council of Trent and the French Wars of Religion . The Medici family came from the agricultural Mugello region north of Florence, and they are first mentioned in a document of 1230. The origin of

9730-420: The blood of my brother and of myself, should be ended by any means. My desire is that by my life or my death, my misfortune or my prosperity, I may contribute to the welfare of our city... I go full of hope, praying to God to give me grace to perform what every citizen should at all times be ready to perform for his country. — Lorenzo de' Medici, 1479 The exile of the Medici lasted until 1512, after which

9869-418: The capital of the Electoral Palatinate , by the Bishop of Osnabrück on 2 July 1697. As she did not like cities or courts, Anna Maria Franziska demanded they establish themselves in her Bohemian residences, Ploskovice Castle and Reichstadt , post-haste. Gian Gastone found life in the little village intolerable. Anna Maria Franziska was unpredictable and prone to outbursts of rage, she held "conversations in

10008-455: The care of their grandmother Vittoria della Rovere . Gian Gastone was tutored by Cardinal Henry Noris , whose company the prince hardly left. The Tuscan prince was an avid intellectual, being an antiquarian, a botanist and an amateur scientist. In addition, he could speak English, among other languages. However, it was these traits that earned Gian Gastone the disdain of his father and of his elder brother, Grand Prince Ferdinando ; Gian Gastone

10147-439: The conferences for Tuscany's future. On 25 October 1723, six days before his death, Grand Duke Cosimo disseminated a final proclamation commanding that Tuscany stay independent: Anna Maria Luisa would succeed uninhibited to Tuscany after Gian Gastone, and the grand duke reserved the right to choose his successor. However, these portions of his proclamation were completely ignored, and he died a few days later. Gian Gastone despised

10286-511: The death of Giuliano and an injured Lorenzo. The conspiracy involved the Pazzi and Salviati families, both rival banking families seeking to end the influence of the Medici, as well as the priest presiding over the church services, the Archbishop of Pisa , and even Pope Sixtus IV to a degree. The conspirators approached Sixtus IV in the hopes of gaining his approval, as he and the Medici had

10425-522: The dignity Royal Highness for the Grand Duke and his family in 1691, despite the fact that they had no claim to any kingdom. Cosimo frequently paid the Holy Roman Emperor, his nominal feudal overlord, exorbitant dues, and he sent munitions to the emperor during the Battle of Vienna . The Medici lacked male heirs, and by 1705, the grand ducal treasury was virtually bankrupt. In comparison to

10564-450: The earliest businesses to use the general ledger system of accounting through the development of the double-entry bookkeeping system for tracking credits and debits. The Medici family financed the construction of Saint Peter's Basilica and Florence Cathedral , and were patrons of Donatello , Brunelleschi , Botticelli , Leonardo da Vinci , Michelangelo , Raphael , Machiavelli , Galileo , and Francesco Redi , among many others in

10703-558: The electress for engineering his catastrophic marriage to Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg ; while she abhorred her brother's liberal policies, he repealed all of his father's anti-Semitic statutes. Gian Gastone revelled in upsetting her. On 25 October 1731, a Spanish detachment occupied Florence on behalf of Don Carlos, who disembarked in Tuscany in December of the same year. The Ruspanti , Gian Gastone's decrepit entourage, loathed

10842-430: The electress, and she them. Duchess Violante of Bavaria , Gian Gastone's sister-in-law, tried to withdraw the grand duke from the sphere of influence of the Ruspanti by organising banquets. His conduct at the banquets was less than regal; he often vomited repeatedly into his napkin, belched, and regaled those present with socially inappropriate jokes. Following a sprained ankle in 1731, he remained confined to his bed for

10981-436: The first non-Habsburg marriage candidate since Alessandro, Christina of Lorraine , a granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici. The Spanish reaction was to construct a citadel on their portion of the island of Elba. To strengthen the new Franco-Tuscan alliance, he married his niece, Marie, to Henry IV of France . Henry explicitly stated that he would defend Tuscany from Spanish aggression, but later reneged, after which Ferdinando

11120-587: The following year he was assassinated by a resentful cousin, Lorenzino de' Medici . The deaths of Alessandro and Ippolito enabled the Medici's "junior" branch to lead Florence. Another outstanding figure of the 16th-century Medici family was Cosimo I, who rose from relatively modest beginnings in the Mugello to attain supremacy over the whole of Tuscany . Against the opposition of Catherine de' Medici , Pope Paul III and their allies, he prevailed in various battles to conquer Florence's hated rival Siena and found

11259-435: The fourteenth year of his reign, the last Medicean Grand Duke died. The Electress Anna Maria Luisa inherited all of the House of Medici's allodial possessions, but in accordance with the wishes of the great powers , Francis of Lorraine inherited the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany. Gian Gastone gave his all in reforming his realm, purging corrupt churchmen from government, reversing Cosimo III's ban of teaching "new ideas", i.e.

11398-459: The future Pope Clement VII . Lorenzo's son Piero II took over as the head of Florence after Lorenzo's death. The Medici were expelled from Florence from 1494 to 1512 after Piero acceded to all of the demands of invader Charles VIII of France . In the dangerous circumstances in which our city is placed, the time for deliberation is past. Action must be taken... I have decided, with your approval, to sail for Naples immediately, believing that as I am

11537-665: The hands of the House of Bourbon . However, France and England did. The Electress returned to Florence in October 1717, following the death of her husband the previous summer. Violante Beatrice of Bavaria, to whom Gian Gastone had become quite attached, disliked the Electress and therefore left the grand ducal court for the position of governor of the town of Siena . The Electress, now the First Lady of Tuscany, and Gian Gastone were not on good terms: he scorned her for marrying him to Anna Maria Franziska, who, for eleven years, made his life unbearable. On 4 April 1718, England, France and

11676-552: The head was the Grand Ducal crown, worn over a cap; and by his side the sceptre. But the crown and sceptre were corroded by the acids which had been used in embalming the body." The one group who may have taken exception to such adulation is the Freemasons whom, in his final year, under harsh penalty he forbade to meet. As of August 2015, access to see his white rectangular marble tomb slab is denied. His remains are not under

11815-407: The idea of a French marriage, and never devoted himself fully to the cause (she was later rejected). Instead, Cosimo offered her to his first choice, Peter II of Portugal . Peter's ministers declined, fearing that Anna Maria Luisa might have inherited her mother's temperament, and may seek to dominate Peter II while being herself intractable to reason. In fact, contemporaries thought her traits to be

11954-597: The late 14th century, the leading family of Florence was the House of Albizzi . In 1293, the Ordinances of Justice were enacted; effectively, they became the constitution of the Republic of Florence throughout the Italian Renaissance. The city's numerous luxurious palazzi were becoming surrounded by townhouses built by the prospering merchant class. The main challengers to the Albizzi family were

12093-568: The latter soon had the grant revoked. After the War of the Polish Succession broke out in 1733, Charles marched a Spanish army south and defeated the Austrians holding the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily . Pursuant to preliminary peace terms negotiated in 1735 (but not finalized until after Gian Gastone's death with the 1738 Treaty of Vienna ), Charles surrendered Parma and the claim to the Tuscan throne to Francis III of Lorraine in exchange for being crowned king of Naples and Sicily. (Francis

12232-490: The management of so "restive and independent a city" as Florence. When Lorenzo died in 1492, however, his son Piero proved quite incapable of responding successfully to challenges caused by the French invasion of Italy in 1492 , and within two years, he and his supporters were forced into exile and replaced with a republican government. Piero de' Medici (1416–1469), Cosimo's son, was only in power for five years (1464–1469). He

12371-507: The moon. The Grand Prince finally succumbed to syphilis on 30 October 1713, sparking a succession crisis. Cosimo III deposited a bill in the Tuscan senate, the nominal legislature, provisioning for a male line succession failure by making the Electress Palatine Gian Gastone's heiress. It passed and was disseminated to chancelleries across Europe. Austria refused to sanction it, fearing that Tuscany would fall into

12510-599: The name is uncertain. Medici is the plural of medico , meaning "medical doctor". The dynasty began with the founding of the Medici Bank in Florence in 1397. For most of the 13th century, the leading banking centre in Italy was Siena . But in 1298, one of the leading banking families of Europe, the Bonsignoris , went bankrupt, and the city of Siena lost its status as the banking centre of Italy to Florence. Until

12649-432: The only daughter and second child of Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany , and his consort, Marguerite Louise d'Orléans , was born in Florence on 11 August 1667. She was named after her maternal aunt Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans , Duchess of Montpensier. Her parents' relationship was quarrelsome; Marguerite Louise took every chance to humiliate Cosimo. On one documented occasion, she branded him "a poor groom" in

12788-453: The person against whom the activities of our enemies are chiefly directed, I may, perhaps, by delivering myself into their hands, be the means of restoring peace to our fellow-citizens. As I have had more honour and responsibility among you than any private citizen has had in our day, I am more bound than any other person to serve our country, even at the risk of my life. With this intention I now go. Perhaps God wills that this war, which began in

12927-546: The philosophy of Galileo et al., in the University of Pisa and abolishing the burdensome income taxes. As a result, he was sincerely mourned by his people. Charles de Brosses , a French politician and writer, wrote, in 1739, "The Tuscans would give two-thirds of their property to have the Medici back, and the other third to get rid of the Lorrainers." This sentiment did not diminish much in 62 years, when, in 1799, during

13066-420: The population of Florence at the dawn of the 17th century was a mere 75,000, far smaller than the other capitals of Italy (i.e., Rome, Milan, Venice, Palermo, and Naples). Francesco and Ferdinando, due to lax distinction between Medici and Tuscan state property, are thought to have been wealthier than their ancestor, Cosimo de' Medici, the founder of the dynasty. The Grand Duke alone had the prerogative to exploit

13205-527: The presence of the Papal nuncio . The enmity between them continued until 26 December 1674; after all attempts at conciliation failed, a stressed Cosimo consented to his wife's departure for the Convent of Montmartre , France. The contract created that day revoked her privileges as a petite fille de France , and declared that upon her death all her assets were to be inherited by her children. Cosimo granted her

13344-665: The prospect of wintering in Prague . Thus, he went to Prague alone but for his suite and favourite attendant, Giuliano Dami . Gian Gastone's once acclaimed complexion and weight were ruined by the course of dissipation he pursued in Prague, becoming blotchy and bloated respectively. Dami acted as a pimp for the Prince, soliciting countless young men for his master's enjoyment. The Prince frequently gambled, racking up exorbitant debts, losing on one occasion 150,000 crowns . His ruinous behaviour

13483-434: The rest of his life. The bed, often smelling of faeces , was occasionally cleaned by Violante. In 1736, following the War of the Polish Succession , Don Carlos was disbarred from Tuscany, and Francis III of Lorraine was made heir in his stead. In January 1737, the Spanish troops withdrew from Tuscany, and were replaced by Austrians. Gian Gastone died on 9 July 1737, surrounded by prelates and his sister. Anna Maria Luisa

13622-429: The second wife of Philip V of Spain , as a great-granddaughter of Margherita de' Medici , exercised a claim to Tuscany. In May 1716, Charles VI, who constantly changed his stance on the issue, told Florence that the Electress's succession was unquestioned, but added that Austria and Tuscany must soon reach an agreement regarding which royal house was to follow the Medici. In June 1717, Cosimo declared his wish that

13761-575: The son of Emperor Charles V's arch-enemy, King Francis I of France —the future King Henry II . This led to the transfer of Medici blood, through Catherine's daughters, to the royal family of Spain through Elisabeth of Valois , and the House of Lorraine through Claude of Valois . In 1534, following a lengthy illness, Pope Clement VII died—and with him the stability of the Medici's "senior" branch. In 1535, Ippolito Cardinal de' Medici died under mysterious circumstances. In 1536, Alessandro de' Medici married Charles V's daughter, Margaret of Austria; however,

13900-680: The stables [i.e. with the horses]" and would rather have remained a widow than have been married again. The lack of intellectual society there and his wife's hostility towards him drove Gian Gastone to increased drinking. Gian Gastone, unable to rein in his disgust, abandoned Anna Maria Franziska for Paris after one year in Reichstadt. When he arrived there, an enraged Cosimo, who had explicitly told his son not to leave Anna Maria Franziksa without his prior consent, ordered him back to Reichstadt. Anna Maria Franziska made an effort to welcome him back; however, her mood turned sour when Gian Gastone brought up

14039-705: The stake in the Piazza della Signoria, the same location as his bonfire. In addition to commissions for art and architecture, the Medici were prolific collectors and today their acquisitions form the core of the Uffizi museum in Florence. In architecture, the Medici were responsible for some notable features of Florence, including the Uffizi Gallery , the Boboli Gardens , the Belvedere , the Medici Chapel and

14178-461: The state's mineral and salt resources, and the fortunes of the Medici were directly tied to the Tuscan economy. Ferdinando, although no longer a cardinal, exercised much influence at successive conclaves. In 1605, Ferdinando succeeded in getting his candidate, Alessandro de' Medici, elected Pope Leo XI . He died the same month, but his successor, Pope Paul V , was also pro-Medici. Ferdinando's pro-papal foreign policy, however, had drawbacks. Tuscany

14317-471: The style Royal Highness from the Holy Roman Emperor for Cosimo III in February 1691. (Cosimo had hitherto been outranked by the Duke of Savoy — much to his anger—who derived royal status from his successful pretendership to the abolished Cypriot throne ). Consequently, Johann Wilhelm was ultimately chosen. He and Anna Maria Luisa were married by proxy on 29 April 1691. At the accompanying festivities,

14456-543: The sun shines as bright as ever..." The royal line of the House of Medici became extinct with her death. Her will, having been completed just months before, according to Sir Horace Mann, left £500,000 worth of jewellery to the Grand Duke Francis and her lands in the former Duchy of Urbino to the Marquis Rinuccini, her main executor and a minister under her father, Cosimo III. She was interred in

14595-399: The sway of the Ruspanti . His behaviour at these sent guests running for their carriages: he vomited into his napkin, wiped his mouth with his peri-wig and told rude jokes. These parties ceased when Violante Beatrice died, in 1731; Gian Gastone was devastated by the loss of his beloved sister-in-law. Rumours abounded that the Grand Duke had died, as the public never saw him. To discredit these,

14734-481: The territories of the Austrian crown. The line of the Princes of Ottajano , an extant branch of the House of Medici who were eligible to inherit the grand duchy of Tuscany when the last male of the senior branch died in 1737, could have carried on as Medici sovereigns but for the intervention of Europe's major powers, which allocated the sovereignty of Florence elsewhere. As a consequence, the grand duchy expired and

14873-544: The territory became a secundogeniture of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. The first grand duke of the new dynasty, Francis I, was a great-great-great-grandson of Francesco I de' Medici, thus he continued the Medicean Dynasty on the throne of Tuscany through the female line. The Habsburgs were deposed in favor of the House of Bourbon-Parma in 1801 (themselves deposed in 1807), but were later restored at

15012-451: The time of his death, the population of the grand duchy was 730,594; the streets were lined with grass and the buildings on the verge of collapse in Pisa . Ferdinando's marriage to Vittoria della Rovere produced two children: Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Francesco Maria de' Medici, Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro . Upon Vittoria's death in 1694, her allodial possessions,

15151-423: The two ladies from quarrelling over precedence, Cosimo III defined Violante Beatrice's status just before the Electress's arrival by appointing her Governess of Siena. On 4 April 1718 Great Britain , France and the Dutch Republic (and later Austria ) selected Infante Charles of Spain , the elder child of Elisabeth Farnese and Philip V of Spain, as the Tuscan heir (with no mention of Anna Maria Luisa). By 1722,

15290-407: The unquestioned leaders. The Medici family was connected to most other elite families of the time through marriages of convenience , partnerships, or employment, so the family had a central position in the social network : several families had systematic access to the rest of the elite families only through the Medici, perhaps similar to banking relationships. Some examples of these families include

15429-497: The wealth of the family through his creation of the Medici Bank, and became one of the richest men in the city of Florence. Although he never held any political office, he gained strong popular support for the family through his support for the introduction of a proportional system of taxation . Giovanni's son Cosimo the Elder , Pater Patriae (father of the country), took over in 1434 as gran maestro (the unofficial head of

15568-481: The white slab; they are under a grey circular stone near his slab. Under this grey stone is a red brick staircase which leads to an underground burial chamber that was studied for the first time ever in 2004. In the chamber are many family members. Gian Gastone had a lead coffin in a wooden frame. It was replaced with a modern coffin. Near him are the remains of many de' Medici children who were buried in unmarked graves. Some of them still have their garments. Gian Gastone

15707-440: Was a great-granddaughter of Margherita de' Medici —Gian Gastone's heir. Charles later transferred his claim to Francis Stephen of Lorraine pursuant to a preliminary peace that was finalized in 1738 . Francis Stephen duly succeeded at Gian Gastone's demise, on 9 July 1737, ending almost 300 years of Medici rule over Florence. For the latter part of his reign, Gian Gastone chose to remain confined in his bed, tended by his entourage,

15846-493: Was among his creditors. Anna Maria Franziska greeted Rinuccini warmly, and implied that Gian Gastone pawned some of her jewels to ameliorate his gambling debts. The Marquis concluded that nothing— not even the Holy Roman Empress's reproaches— could compel Anna Maria Franziska to Florence , where Gian Gastone longed to be. Forced once again to quell his enmity towards his wife, Gian Gastone returned to Reichstadt as per

15985-626: Was an artist in his own right and an author of poetry and song; his support of the arts and letters is seen as a high point in Medici patronage. After Lorenzo's death the puritanical Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola rose to prominence, warning Florentines against excessive luxury. Under Savonarola's fanatical leadership many great works were "voluntarily" destroyed in the Bonfire of the Vanities (February 7, 1497). The following year, on 23 May 1498, Savonarola and two young supporters were burned at

16124-499: Was analogous to Christina's, and together they aligned Tuscany with the papacy , re-doubled the Tuscan clergy, and allowed the heresy trial of Galileo Galilei to occur. Upon the death of the last Duke of Urbino (Francesco Maria II), instead of claiming the duchy for Ferdinando, who was married to the Duke of Urbino's granddaughter and heiress, Vittoria della Rovere , they permitted it to be annexed by Pope Urban VIII . In 1626, they banned any Tuscan subject from being educated outside

16263-403: Was banished from Tuscany as part of a territorial swap, and Francis III of Lorraine was made heir in his stead. In January 1737, the Spanish troops, who had occupied Tuscany since 1731, withdrew; 6,000 Austrian soldiers took their place. Gian Gastone died from "an accumulation of diseases" on 9 July 1737, surrounded by prelates and his sister. Anna Maria Luisa was offered a nominal regency by

16402-499: Was called "Piero the Gouty" because of the gout that pained his foot and led to his death. Unlike his father, Piero had little interest in the arts. Due to his illness, he mostly stayed at home bedridden, and therefore did little to further the Medici control of Florence while in power. As such, Medici rule stagnated until the next generation, when Piero's son Lorenzo took over. Lorenzo de' Medici (1449–1492), called "the Magnificent",

16541-439: Was descended from both Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the Elder through the marriage between Maria Salviati , grandchild of Lorenzo the Magnificent , and Giovanni de' Medici, great-grandson of Lorenzo the Elder. This becomes clearer when one understands their common ancestor: Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici , father to both Lorenzo the Elder and Cosimo de' Medici. Thus the kings of France from Louis XIII and on, are descended from

16680-551: Was dominated by a rapid succession of political crises—many long in the making—that resulted in the sack of Rome by the armies of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1527 and rise of the Salviati, Altoviti and Strozzi as the leading bankers of the Roman Curia . From the time of Clement's election as pope in 1523 until the sack of Rome, Florence was governed by the young Ippolito de' Medici (future cardinal and vice-chancellor of

16819-514: Was elected and Cosimo returned. The Medici became the city's leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Florence remained a republic until 1537, traditionally marking the end of the High Renaissance in Florence, but the instruments of republican government were firmly under the control of the Medici and their allies, save during intervals after 1494 and 1527. Cosimo and Lorenzo rarely held official posts but were

16958-430: Was entertained by the Ruspanti , a team of poor, handsome young men assembled by Dami, who performed sexual acts for and with the Grand Duke. Loathing the aristocracy, Gian Gastone called the foremost Ruspanti by the names of prominent Tuscan nobles. A contemporary dubbed the head of the Ruspanti , Giuliano Dami , "the despot of Gian Gastone's court"; he exploited his influence with the Grand Duke by offering anybody who

17097-481: Was forced to marry his heir, Cosimo, to Maria Maddalena of Austria to assuage Spain (where Maria Maddalena's sister Margaret was the incumbent Queen consort). Ferdinando also sponsored a Tuscan expedition to the New World with the intention of establishing a Tuscan colony, an enterprise that brought no result for permanent colonial acquisitions. Despite all of these incentives for economic growth and prosperity,

17236-462: Was forced to surrender the Duchy of Lorraine to Stanisław Leszczyński , the losing claimant to the Polish throne.) Neither the Grand Duke nor Francis III were consulted. The latter was reluctant to cede his homeland to France, but the Holy Roman Emperor (soon to be his father-in-law) compelled him. Gian Gastone was angry; he had become quite attached to the Infante-Duke, and didn't like the prospect of

17375-443: Was incensed, replying that there was no point going with him because he was "absolutely impotent." Cosimo III conceded defeat and recalled Gian Gastone to Florence in 1708; he never saw his wife again. As Prince Gian Gastone disliked his father's hyper-pious character, he elected to stay away from him and the royal court. The closed court that Gian Gastone did keep was dominated by his favourite, Dami. Meanwhile, Grand Prince Ferdinando

17514-532: Was initially derived from the textile trade guided by the wool guild of Florence, the Arte della Lana . Like other families ruling in Italian signorie , the Medici dominated their city's government, were able to bring Florence under their family's power, and created an environment in which art and humanism flourished. The Italian Renaissance was inspired by the Medici along with other families of Italy, such as

17653-468: Was marked by the reversal of his predecessor's conservative policy; he abolished taxes for poorer people, repealed penal laws which restricted Jews and discontinued public executions. The Medici were wanting in male heirs; his father, Cosimo III, wanted the Electress Palatine to succeed Gian Gastone. However, Spain , Great Britain , Austria and the Dutch Republic disregarded Cosimo's plan and appointed Charles of Spain —whose mother, Elisabeth Farnese ,

17792-424: Was met with fierce opposition from the European powers. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor , Tuscany's nominal feudal over-lord, subscribed, but only if he should succeed her. Cosimo and she were at odds with the proposal. Without a concord in sight, the "Tuscan question" became dormant. Some years later, as the question of the succession became more urgent, Cardinal Francesco Maria de' Medici , Cosimo III's brother,

17931-418: Was more capable of leading and ruling a city, but he neglected the family banking business, which led to its ultimate ruin. To ensure the continuance of his family's success, Lorenzo planned his children's future careers for them. He groomed the headstrong Piero II to follow as his successor in civil leadership; Giovanni (future Pope Leo X ) was placed in the church at an early age; and his daughter Maddalena

18070-420: Was offered a nominal regency by the Prince de Craon until the new grand duke could peregrinate to Tuscany, but declined. Upon her brother's death, she received all the House of Medici's allodial possessions. Anna Maria Luisa signed the Patto di Famiglia ("family pact") on 31 October 1737. In collaboration with the Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke Francis of Lorraine, she willed all the personal property of

18209-665: Was overrun with religious orders, not all of whom were obliged to pay taxes. Ferdinando died in 1609, leaving an affluent realm; his inaction in international affairs, however, would have long-reaching consequences down the line. In France, Marie de' Medici was acting as regent for her son, Louis XIII . Louis repudiated her pro-Habsburg policy in 1617. She lived the rest of her life deprived of any political influence. Ferdinando's successor, Cosimo II , reigned for less than 12 years. He married Maria Maddalena of Austria, with whom he had his eight children, including Margherita de' Medici , Ferdinando II de' Medici , and an Anna de' Medici . He

18348-515: Was provided with a sumptuous dowry to make a politically advantageous marriage to a son of Pope Innocent VIII that cemented the alliance between the Medici and the Roman branches of the Cybo and Altoviti families. The Pazzi conspiracy of 1478 was an attempt to depose the Medici family by killing Lorenzo with his younger brother Giuliano during Easter services; the assassination attempt ended with

18487-612: Was ravaged by the ongoing Nine Years' War , in which Louis XIV assaulted the Palatinate on behalf of his brother, Philippe of France, Duke of Orléans , occupying the city of Philippsburg in the process. The Electress became pregnant in 1692; however, she miscarried. It is thought incorrectly by some historians that soon after arrival she contracted syphilis from the Elector, which they think explains why Anna Maria Luisa and Johann Wilhelm failed to produce any children. Anna Maria Luisa and Johann Wilhelm, notwithstanding, shared

18626-422: Was relayed to Florence by the Electress Palatine. Gian Gastone replied to Cosimo's ensuing admonishments with an account of his married life, blaming Anna Maria Franziska's "capriciousness, peevish faces and sharp words" for his desperate conduct. Considering summoning him to Florence, Cosimo sent the Marquis Rinuccini to scrutinise his younger son's debts. Rinnucci was horrified to learn that the Archbishop of Prague

18765-408: Was released from his vows and coerced into marrying Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla 's elder daughter, Eleanor , in 1709. The Electress urged him to care for his health and "give us the consolation of a little prince." However, two years later, he died without issue, taking with him any hope of an heir. Following the death of his heir apparent, Ferdinando , in 1713, Cosimo deposited a bill in

18904-482: Was slowly dying from syphilis , making Gian Gastone's immediate succession more likely. Ferdinando, nonetheless, was not alone in his suffering: Guyot de Merville , a French adventurer, took note of Gian Gastone's mental decline: "He carries [apathy] so far that it is said he never opens a letter, to avoid having to answer." Additionally, Gian Gastone's fragile temperament required long periods of isolation; he spent several hours alone each night, drinking and staring up at

19043-548: Was thought to be under imperial suzerainty . Upon the death of his first son, Cosimo contemplated restoring the Florentine republic, either upon Anna Maria Luisa's death, or on his own, if he predeceased her. The restoration of the republic would entail resigning Siena to the Holy Roman Empire, but, regardless, it was vehemently endorsed by his government. Europe largely ignored Cosimo's plan. Only Great Britain and

19182-427: Was thus granted a scant allowance by his father and therefore could not enjoy the "dissipations" of court. Cosimo III considered compelling Gian Gastone to become a cardinal. In order to rally Gian Gastone to its cause, Spain, concerned that another Medicean cardinal—Gian Gastone's uncle, Francesco Maria de' Medici, Duke of Rovere and Montefeltro , already enjoyed that dignity—would tip the scales in favour of France at

19321-402: Was willing to bribe him an audience with their monarch. During the period 1723–1731, the powers-that-be busied themselves hammering out a solution to the "Tuscan question". Spain zealously endorsed its candidate, Charles of Spain , who had been made heir by the powers in 1718 but did not enjoy universal recognition; Austria would not accept another Bourbon monarch in Italy. Gian Gastone, knowing

#192807